Transgenerational effects of gamma radiation dose and dose rate on Drosophila flies irradiated at an early embryonal stage

Traimate Sangsuwan; Mattias Mannervik; Siamak Haghdoost

doi:10.1016/j.mrgentox.2022.503523

Transgenerational effects of gamma radiation dose and dose rate on Drosophila flies irradiated at an early embryonal stage

Mutat Res Genet Toxicol Environ Mutagen. 2022 Sep:881:503523. doi: 10.1016/j.mrgentox.2022.503523. Epub 2022 Jul 2.

Authors

Traimate Sangsuwan¹, Mattias Mannervik¹, Siamak Haghdoost²

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Radiation Protection Research, Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
² Centre for Radiation Protection Research, Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden; University of Caen Normandy, Cimap-Aria, Ganil, and Advanced Resource Center for HADrontherapy in Europe (ARCHADE), Caen, France. Electronic address: siamak.haghdoost@su.se.

PMID: 36031335
DOI: 10.1016/j.mrgentox.2022.503523

Abstract

Ionizing radiation (IR) kills cells mainly through induction of DNA damages and the surviving cells may suffer from mutations. Transgenerational effects of IR are well documented, but the exact mechanisms underlying them are less well understood; they include induction of mutations in germ cells and epigenetic inheritance. Previously, effects in the offspring of mice and zebrafish exposed to IR have been reported. A few studies also showed indications of transgenerational effects of radiation in humans, particularly in nuclear power workers. In the present project, short- and long-term effects of low-dose-rate (LDR; 50 and 97 mGy/h) and high-dose-rate (HDR; 23.4, 47.1 and 495 Gy/h) IR in Drosophila embryos were investigated. The embryos were irradiated at different doses and dose rates and radiosensitivity at different developmental stages was investigated. Also, the survival of larvae, pupae and adults developed from embryos irradiated at an early stage (30 min after egg laying) were studied. The larval crawling and pupation height assays were applied to investigate radiation effects on larval locomotion and pupation behavior, respectively. In parallel, the offspring from 3 Gy irradiated early-stage embryos were followed up to 12 generations and abnormal phenotypes were studied. Acute exposure of embryos at different stages of development showed that the early stage embryo is the most sensitive. The effects on larval locomotion showed no significant differences between the dose rates but a significant decrease of locomotion activity above 7 Gy was observed. The results indicate that embryos exposed to the low dose rates have shorter eclosion times. At the same cumulative dose (1 up to 7 Gy), HDR is more embryotoxic than LDR. We also found a radiation-induced depigmentation on males (A5 segment of the dorsal abdomen, A5pig^-) that can be transmitted up to 12 generations. The phenomenon does not follow the classical Mendelian laws of segregation.

Keywords: Chronic exposure; Drosophila; High dose rate; Ionizing radiation; Low dose rate; Radiation toxicity.

MeSH terms

Animals
Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation
Drosophila*
Embryonic Development
Gamma Rays
Humans
Larva
Male
Radiation, Ionizing
Zebrafish*